Water supply meters worth Rs700m rendered obsolete as KWSB fails to install them in time

To ensure equitable water distribution to the city, the bulk supply of meters worth Rs700million were purchased in 2008, but they have become obsolete lying in the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) store at the COD filter plant.

Informed sources told The News on Sunday that nobody questioned the officers as to why the bulk metres were not installed while the cost of those meters had escalated to one billion rupees.

They demanded of the Supreme Court-mandated water commission, the National Accountability Bureau and the provincial anti-corruption body to hold an inquiry against irresponsible officers and ensure that they were taken to task.

Sources shared that seven of these bulk metres were installed at the Dhabeji pumping station, while the rest were dumped at the KWSB store. They said the meters were purchased for the K–III project and the main purpose was to ensure equitable water distribution to the city.

The huge amount was spent on the installation of the supply meters at Dhabeji, Pipri and North-East pumping stations so that it could be evaluated exactly how much water was supplied to the city.

Sources said these pumps could be installed at town levels, and then it could also be known how much water was supplied to various localities in 24 hours. They also complained that certain engineers conspired to take all the lucrative postings with huge perks and privileges and deprive those working in the field despite being highly qualified.